The best apps of 2020 (so far)

Without apps, an iPhone is an expensive paperweight. Luckily for iOS and Android users, there have been a lot of great new apps released in 2020. 

And while our day-to-day routines have been radically altered by the global pandemic, apps are still integral to our lives. Whether they’re silly time-wasters or valuable tools in the fight against oppression, 2020 has given us a few new apps that are worth your time.

These are some of the best apps of 2020 so far.

HBO Max

HBO Max’s mobile app (available on Android and iOS) isn’t especially remarkable relative to other streaming service apps. It has all the basic features you could want, such as being able to watch the service’s entire catalogue on your phone, as well as 30-day downloads for those who are doing a lot of traveling right now for some reason.

It makes this list because it works, there isn’t much competition (new streaming services don’t launch every day), and HBO Max has an impressive streaming selection. Let me put it in simpler terms: It’s the only mobile app that lets you legally stream Studio Ghibli films and Friends. That’s enough, right? The best part is that you can access it with the same login info you’ve been using to watch HBO Go or Now for years, so you may not necessarily need to spend $14.99 per month on a new subscription.

I suppose Quibi also warrants a mention here. It’s the only other major streaming service to launch a mobile app in 2020 so far. Its tech and UI are very good, but the actual content is, uh, yeah. On second thought, don’t worry about Quibi.

Photoshop Camera

Adobe’s new Photoshop Camera app for iOS and Android soft launched for some users back in November, but it didn’t get a full, wide release until June. It’s not the most mind-blowing thing in the world, but Photoshop Camera is a nice way to make your phone photos look neat without doing any actual work. Go figure that the people behind Photoshop would be good at that.

Photoshop Camera is a camera app with a bunch of cool filters that can turn any old photo into a pop art or glitch aesthetic masterpiece in just a couple of seconds. There’s also a sponsored Billie Eilish filter for some reason. Take an existing photo and put a blue sky behind it, or download a custom Pride-themed lens complete with rainbows aplenty from the in-app lens marketplace. If you’re tired of the generic filters you find on Instagram or Snapchat, Photoshop Camera can unlock a whole new world of selfies and food pics.

Anonymous Camera

And now for a camera app with significantly more real-world utility. Anonymous Camera came out on iOS in the midst of nationwide protests after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis with the simple goal of anonymizing photos of protesters. It can blur or cover up faces with solid colors using on-device machine learning. You don’t need to do anything other than snap a photo within the app.

If you have an iPhone XS or newer, you can block out entire bodies. There are also easy ways to erase metadata from photos within the app so they can’t be traced if you post them on social media. The best part is that all of this is free. You can throw down a $1.99 one-time fee to remove the Anonymous Camera watermark from your photos or only block out parts of the photo, but that’s optional. 

Pokemon Smile

Rounding out our list is an app that’s more useful for kids than adults. Pokémon Smile on iOS and Android is a newly launched free app that leverages the magnetizing power of Nintendo’s iconic pocket monsters to make sure you brush your dang teeth correctly.

This app basically turns brushing your teeth into a game. You point the selfie camera at yourself while you brush and a classic Pokémon like Pikachu or Squirtle guides you along the way, telling you which quadrant you should be brushing and for how long. By doing so, you clear your teeth of virtual critters who would seek to do them harm. At the end of the process, you get to throw a Poke Ball at your attackers with a chance of catching them.

It’s real silly and hopefully most adults can brush their own teeth without cartoon animals telling them how to do it. If not, though, this is a great way to figure it out.

Honorable Mention: Signal

Signal on iOS and Android has been around for years, so we can’t technically call it one of the best apps of 2020. However, it might be the best app for 2020. Simply put, Signal is a safe, encrypted way to message people without fear of data harvesting or surveillance. Everything is encrypted from end to end, so you and your friends are the only people who will read what you’re sending.

If you’re attending protests and want to coordinate with people, Signal is the way to go. If you don’t believe us, ask the hundreds of thousands of people who have downloaded it recently. 

Honorable Mention: Craiglist

Craigslist is the face of classified ads on the internet. It feels about as old as the internet itself. It also, miraculously, didn’t get an official mobile app until December 2019.

You can download the real Craigslist app on iOS and Android now and, well, do Craigslist stuff on it.  Need to search for an apartment or sell an old Xbox? No need to load up a third-party app or go to Craigslist’s ancient-looking website anymore. Since it snuck in at the tail end of last year, it at least deserves a nod on this list.